Our Fairytale Engagement

During the summer of 2006 I was working in Malibu, California at a camp for blind children. Matt was home in Colorado Springs. We had been a couple for a little over a year. I knew that first summer that he was going to be my husband and he thought the same thing, but he had a saying, "You need to get to know someone through all the seasons before marriage is a option".
Before I left for California, Matt and I had gone to a jeweler to look at engagement rings. We had decided that I would pick out  two rings and he would make the final decision, this way it would still be a surprise, but I would get a ring that I really loved. I wanted an emerald cut diamond, but Matt really liked the princess cut. So, the salesperson helped us find two settings we really liked, one for the emerald and one for the princess. When they dropped the princess cut diamond into the setting all I could say was, "Holy cow". It was spectacular, I've never seen anything like it. I liked the emerald setting too, but I was in love with this one. I left the decision up to Matt as promised.
Matt came to California to visit at the end of July. I had a few days off and we decided to go to Disneyland with my new friend, Kari. I was so happy to see him, this was a small camp with 30 employees sharing one phone and two computers. I didn't get much time to talk to Matt, so to have him there in person was amazing.
I didn't suspect that he would pop the question on this trip, mainly because our family wasn't there and I still had three weeks before coming home and I couldn't imagine saying goodbye to my new fiancee. Getting engaged was the farthest thing from my mind.
After a few hours at the park we decided to have our caricature drawn. I remember that it took forever and I was very concerned about how we would look, goofy or gorgeous? When he was done the artist motioned for us to come take a look. As a women my eyes went directly to my side of the portrait and I immediately started to comment about how I like the way my hair looked. I was so engrossed that I didn't even notice the huge ring and bubble over Matt's head that read, "Will you marry me?". My friend Kari was kind enough to tell me to look up. I was floored and before I knew it Matt was down on one knee holding my hand. To be honest I don't remember anything he said (thankfully he wrote it down for me). I just remember seeing the "Holy cow" ring and giving him the wrong hand. At some point I said, "YES!" and we were engaged! It was truly a fairytale moment and I had my prince charming. I can't believe it's been 5 years since our magical moment. I'm so blessed to have such an amazing husband.

July 26, 2006.